VIJAYAWADA: Even though the AP Capital Region Development Authority (CRDA) has been maintaining that the Central government institutions, which were allotted lands in Amaravati, have not begun the works yet, it is learnt that the authority has not handed over the lands to the institutions so far. The authority has only given Letters of Intent (LoIs) to the institutions. The officials TNIE spoke to said that the reason for not handing over then lands is non-payment of land cost by the institutions.
“Most of the institutions have not paid the land cost. So, we have sent them reminders that not paying land cost after getting LOIs would be violation of the terms and conditions. So once they pay, we will hand over the lands,” a top ranking official told Express. He observed that the State government has issued government orders allotting the lands before issuing the LOIs.
However, there is a delay on the part of the CRDA as well. The master plan of the core capital region, where most of the Central government offices were allotted lands, is yet to be finalised. Therefore, officials have decided to pause the process of giving possession of land for the time being. Admitting that there is a significant delay, the official said that procedural delays were common.
“The organisations have issues like getting requisite approval and budget from the concerned ministry. The Central government institutions should also have their offices in every State. Since we are also looking for kick-starting economic activity, we will work with them to ensure faster construction of those institutions,” the official said.
On Tuesday, representatives from a few Central government organisations met the CRDA officials and agreed to pay the land cost. It may be recalled that the State government has given lands to around 50 institutions — both public and private — in the last two years. A total of about 1,300 acres of land was allotted to them.
Confusion prevailed when CRDA vice-chairman and municipal minister P Narayana, on May 10, said that the State government has issued notices to all the organisations which have not started construction in the allotted lands. This has created a confusion as the CRDA has not yet given the possession of lands to the organisations.CRDA commissioner Cherukuri Sreedhar, on Monday, clarified that the lands would not be taken back from the allottees.